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Republicans are about to face reality and get their first taste of what is waiting for them at home after they decided to put their fear of Trump ahead of the needs of their constituents by voting for tax cuts for the rich that are paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
According to Politico:
Ad-makers have quickly prepped attack ads to air as soon as the holiday weekend is over, including in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. House Democrats are plotting to turn the August recess into the opening salvo of the midterms, including through town halls and organizing programs. And Democrats see an opportunity to expand the battleground, going on offense into red areas across the country.”
Dasha Burns obtained a study that Blue Rose Research conducted for the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC. In it, they found that without any priming, net support for the bill was 8 points underwater. When provided with a fairly anodyne description of the bill, it’s 19 points underwater. (And notably, this study was done before some of the largest cuts to Medicaid were introduced to the package.)
The ads will add gasoline to the fire of constituent anger at Republicans that has only been exponentially growing through the process of passing this bill.
Democrats had already planned to spend the August recess crisscrossing the country to hold town halls in Republican states and districts, telling voters about this legislation.
These efforts should be viewed in the context of being the opening shot of the 2026 midterm election.
Democrats will run a 50-state strategy or very close to it in 2026, but it doesn’t make sense to spend on ads in every congressional district. No Democratic ad is going to have an impact in the north Georgia district of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example.
While Democrats have done a good job of branding the Republican bill, it is now time to drive the message home and turn those words into votes that will translate into Democrats taking back all or part of Congress.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.